an appetite for higher taxes on the top earners, that same poll shows they also want to see changes to some entitlements like a reduction in medicare benefits for high income seniors. >> if i vote and support the first tax increase in my lifetime, you guys are going to come forward with real entitlement reform. how do you guarantee me that you're not going to kick the can down the road again? >> i think the best approach here is to try to do as much up front as possible. and then there will inevitably have to be a second stage. but just try to minimize how much you're kicking. >> let's dig in now and bring in congressman hansen clark, a detroit democrat. congressman, great to have you here. i want to start with the president going to be wheels up in just a moment in your neck of the woods today to put the pressure on publicly for republicans to pass these tax cuts for the middle class. which he says that he would sign right away. but republicans have certainly been critical of the president's public campaign. do you think that this would be a better time, certainly coming off the heels of a face to face yesterday with speaker boehner,

to spend more time behind closed doors hammering out a deal than going on the road? >> no. i think the best way to break this political gridlock in washington is to go directly to the american people because it's we the people that can demand the politicians and congress resolve this fiscal cliff, but resolve it in a way that makes our country stronger. that's why the president's come here to metro detroit. we're the home for u.s. manufacturing. also we're the home for the american worker. we need to resolve our fiscal problems, but resolve them in a way that continues to investigation in training and educating our workers and advanced manufacturing and also providing the revenue that we need to still provide health care to our seniors and social security to those who depend on it. >> sir, let's talk about getting to the sensible center here. because as the politico poll that i referenced earlier off the top of the show indicates, 59% oppose significant cuts to defense but 75% favor across the board spending cuts.

so where are you and other colleagues willing to start with those spending cuts? i mean, what are democrats willing to put on the table specifically? >> well, first of all, i've spoken to many republicans in the house. i'm one of the most liberal democratic members of the house, but i have great relationships with the republicans. all of us want to resolve this crisis. we want to come to an agreement. so i believe that we will find a way to negotiate this. we also look at, in addition to cutting in areas of pentagon spending such as maintaining nuclear weapons, we have more than enough nuclear weapons to blow up this world many times over again, we can eliminate and save a lot of money in that end with pentagon spending. but also we need to reform our tax code. reform it in a way that closes those loopholes that encourage companies to send their jobs

overseas, but rather provide incentives to bring those jobs back home. that's another reason why the president's coming here to detroit to underscore the fact that we need a strong manufacturing base in order for our country to compete internationally. >> sir, certainly republicans have said that loopholes can be on the table. again, that's not going to be the amount of revenue that we need to pull in as a country. there's going to be other areas where that needs to come from. again, back to spending, while you talk about defense, is there a possibility that the medicare eligibility age could be on the table? >> i think everything is on the table. but the affordable care act, because it focuses on prevention, that'll actually reduce health care costs dramatically over time. because one of our biggest drivers in our federal budget is medicare costs, because health care technology is so expensive. so the more that we're able to keep people healthy, promote wellness so they don't end up going to the hospital, then we'll actually avoid incuring those big health care charges on

the government. so the affordable care act, the full implementation of it, is key to reducing our overall health care spending and reducing our debt and deficit. >> sir, i want to get you on the record about this. as you said, michigan is the home of the american worker. but there are more protests planned in your state today over the controversial right to work legislation that the governor there, rick snyder, sparked this political firestorm when he announced last week he'd sign a bill requiring workers to financially support unions. it could happen tomorrow. moments ago you and your michigan colleagues gave a news conference on this. are you concerned this is going to turn into another messy situation similar to what we saw play out in wisconsin last year? >> here's what i'm concerned about with right to work. is that, number one, it'll end up cutting wages and benefits for middle-income workers who really need the money right now. they're still struggling with under water mortgages, with their kids facing all the student loan debt that i've been fighting to reduce, and also our middle-income families, when

they have enough money to take care of themselves, spending that money actually stimulates the economy. so right to work is wrong. everyone who benefits from union representation should at least pay their fair share for that. >> sir, thanks so much. democratic congressman from michigan, hansen clarke. i want to pass long again, watch live coverage of the president's remarks in detroit later today. the president expected to speak at 2:00 p.m. eastern time. we want to bring in our political power panel for monday morning. kerry rudolph brown. democratic jat gist jamie harrison. republican strategist chip saltzman. great to have you here. i know you were listening to the congressman there. right now democrats do appear to be winning the debate in the court of public opinion. 60% favoring the hiking of taxes on incomes over $250,000. but, chip, i want to ask you, how much longer can the gop continue its posturing on this? because it's kind of a faye ta

come plea that this is going to happen. taxes are going to go up no matter what they do. >> first of all, whenever you poll somebody should we raise taxes on the rich people everybody says yes. that poll is meaningless to me. yeah, i think something's going to get done. we've got 22 days. the president's got a fairly strong hand on here. if nothing happens then all the taxes go up. but i think that the republicans have got to really put spending cuts at the front of this table. we can't just get a commitment to talk about them. if the republicans go along with a tax increase which is as most people know, that's the worst thing republicans can do as far as the base is concerned, they've got to get some serious spending cuts to be able to take back home after christmas. >> let's put that poll back up. because, chip, you're saying certain people say this is meaningless to me. but, jamie, this politico number that we're looking at here, if republicans agree to raise taxes on the top 2%, what assurances are they going to have on the back end that democrats are going to be able to come back next year and work to simplify tax code reform entitlements

like chip points out? >> listen, tom, in terms of polls being meaningless, my good friend chip, the republicans aren't very -- don't like polls very well as we saw in the last presidential election. but, listen, that aside, democrats are very committed. and this president is very committed to handling this fiscal problem that we have right now. and, you know, even in his first term, he talked about real tax reform. and corporate tax reform. and so he wants to find ways in which to keep american businesses here in the country. but also find ways in which we can streamline our tax code. to make small businesses work better. and to grow. and so i -- i am very, very confident that the democrats are very sincere in their thoughts about reforming the tax code next year. >> all right. carrie, i want to play this for everybody. this clip from chuck todd's interview with erskine bowles.

>> i don't see why the president would want to negotiate against himself on this. if republicans are going to be willing to reduce entitlements, then he ought to come forward and talk about those that they're willing to support. >> carrie, the president has been willing, publicly willing, at least to say so, to take a hard look at entitlements. isn't it now time for the republicans to offer up the specifics of what they want? the onus is on them? >> that's certainly the position of the white house and democrats on the hill. they say they've been waiting for a few weeks for republicans to step forward with a specific plan on entitlements. you heard a little bit last week from republican aides when they briefed reporters that they were interested in looking at the medicare eligibility age, raising that, looking at changing the cost of living calculator for government benefit programs. but they did not put that in the letter, the specific proposal they sent to the president. so we continue to see this back and forth. this demand that republicans step forward with a specific plan. but at the same time,

republicans saying, you know, we're willing to consider revenue, mr. president, we need to see what you're willing to do on entitlements. so that has been sort of a point of, you know, contention right now. the fact that we saw the president meeting with speaker boehner yesterday at the white house, we have to think that these conversations are getting into more detail. so i think today is when we'll maybe see some more of these details possibly shake loose. or there could be such a close hold because maybe progress is being made. >> all right. another interesting thing that i do want to talk about today is this article that politico has out dealing with republican leaders. and only adds to the question of who is the gop leader right now. 47% of republicans have a favorable view of mitt romney and congressman paul ryan. 47%. that number is just going to haunt them till the end of days. 29% say the same of house speaker john boehner. 39% view jeb bush in a favorable light. 36% of republicans haven't even heard of marco rubio.

carrie, there's no definitive answer in all of this as to who republicans see emerging as a true leader moving forward. >> sure. that's the challenge that republicans face right now after mitt romney, who doesn't hold a public office where he can continue to sort of have this platform or this voice. so that leaves a void right now. as you said, speaker -- i mean, congressman ryan is, you know, below 50%. a lot of these more popular figures as we would view them inside washington, marco rubio, others, you know, they still remain largely unknown outside the beltway. and jeb bush, another person who's been pointed out as a leading contender in 2016 is still being weighed down by the bush name. you can see maybe that's the reason why -- among many reasons, probably, he did not jump into the race this year. he has a couple of years, obviously, to sort of push up his, you know, favorability rating. we will probably see him maybe taking a more prominent role in the next year as immigration comes up.

he's been a key sort of leader on that. but, yeah, for the republican party there's a void right now. then again, we're four years out. so we can't take too much or the republican party can't look at these numbers as too dire at this point. >> even though we are four years out, i want you all to take a listen to what joe scarborough had to say this morning about the republican party. >> i notice a lot of the people on the far right, not the far, far right, really it's almost like they get the memo. you know, our stupidity is not rewarded on election day. perhaps we're going to have a more fact-based view of the political scene. >> chip, do you think that's resonating? are there signs those on the far right are ready to moderate their positions a bit, especially when it comes to the mid-terms and moving on to the next presidential race. >> yeah. i don't obviously agree with how joe caps that. we lost an election. obviously we know that. any time you lose an election or the national party loses an election, we say what are we going to do to change? as a party we've got to actually

talk about what we believe in in a way the people actually want to listen and hear it. as opposed to being the party of angry people. i think the last election it seemed like most republicans were just mad about being conservative. there was no positive message about what that meant for hispanics or what that meant for the people that were unemployed. it was just we seemed to be this poster boy of angry. i think as we kind of move forward and we talk about who the next leader is, i think that leader's going to be emerged as somebody that can talk about a positive message of what conservative values mean to this country. >> monday morning power panel. chip saltsman, jaime harrison, and carrie brown. the big buzz. in hillary land and beyond. would she be unbeatable in 2016? would there be stumbling blocks on her potential road to the white house? jody cantor joins me next. plus, two deejays lose their show after their hoax on the hospital where the duchess was being treated.

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the two radio tdeejays who made a prank call to the duchess of cambridge's hospital have had their show canned. this just hours after they spoke out on australian tv about the hoax and expressed regret and sadness over the death of one of the nurses who was fooled by that prank. >> i'm just so devastated for them. i'm really feeling for them. >> it's a shocking turn of events. >> if we had any idea that something like this could be even possible to happen, you know, we couldn't see this happening. it was meant to be a prank call.

>> nbc news joining us live in london with the very latest. kerry, have we had a definitive rules about the death of the nurse? >> no, we haven't yet, actually. we're expecting an inquest for her to be held this week. and then we'll know a bit more about what exactly did happen. we know what happened, of course, was that she was found dead soon after this prank call was made. and that she was the nurse who answered the call. and then today, as you say, we have this interview on australian television. on a number of networks, actually, from the two deejays describing how they felt to have been involved in this call that they thought they were making for fun. perhaps ill advisedly. and now has turned into this terribly traumatic story. saying there, i can't stop thinking about it. i'm still trying to make sense of it. the other deejay describing himself as shattered, gutted, heartbroken.

now, police here have contacted police in australia where the radio station is to say that they may want to inquire. i think those inquiries might be about the inquest that's coming and just trying to establish some basic facts. but there's also the question, of course, about the regulations. and there's this kind of war of words between the hospital and the radio station about what exactly went on. the hospital saying that they don't believe -- it doesn't believe it had any contact from the station before the broadcast was made. the station saying that the call was recorded and then was cleared for air by the station. and that they had tried to make a number of attempts to contact the hospital before it was aired. >> nbc's keir simmons reporting from london. the national transportation safety board is sending a team of investigators on to mexico to find out what caused the plane crash that killed mexican-american singing star jenni rivera. this is video showing rivera on stage during her final concert

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hands down, hillary clinton may be one of the most powerful women in the world. but she's not immune to illness. the state department officials say a nasty stomach bug forced secretary of state hillary clinton to delay an overseas trip to mo morocco until tomorrow. after that her future options are essentially open. insiders speculate she could buy a home in the hamptons, write a book or run for president come 2016. something james carville said would thrill democrats but scare the living daylights out of republicans according to newt gingrich. >> the democrats want her to run. i don't just mean a lot of

democrats. i mean a whole lot of democrats. 90% across the country. >> if their competitor in '16 is going to be hillary clinton supported by bill clinton and presumably a still relatively popular president barack obama, trying to win that will be truly the super bowl. and the republican party today is incapable of competing at that level. >> we just had the super bowl. now we talk about the next one. "new york times" reporter jody cantor interviewed a number of clinton aides about the future plans of hillary clinton and they didn't hold back. jody, great to have you with me today. all corners of clinton world went on record with you about this. you point out the down sides ofa white house run in your piece saying the more serious issue here is she's about 2016, the less she can do. no frank, seen it all memoir. no clients, commissions or controversial positions that could prove problematic. given what the aides told you is it likely she's going to go off the grid for the next several years? >> she's definitely going off

the grid for a few weeks or months. her plan is to try to exit the department of state by shortly after inauguration day. and then she really is going into seclusion. lots of people have been asking her to commit for events for 2013. the state department has literally said no to everyone. her aides have said don't even try. come back to us next year. she needs time to rest and relax. now, mrs. clinton in interviews has joked about putting her feet up and watching reality tv. but, in fact, she has a more serious set of questions to contemplate. because there is the simple matter of what do you do all day if you're hillary clinton and you don't suddenly have a huge important job to do. she wants to do things like write books. she wants to work on behalf of women and girls. she wants to start to enjoy her life. but the trouble is that it is very hard to make those smaller decisions like what sort of book to write until she makes the big one. because if she's going to run for president, she has to write

a very careful book. sort of setting out that possibility. if she wasn't going to run, we could finally read the hillary clinton has seen it all book that some day she might like to write. >> nothing that could be used against her. a new george washington university/politico battleground poll, jodi, out this morning shows clinton's favorability rating is higher than that of president obama and vice president biden as well as some of the most tested republicans of the 2012 race. so what is it that right now gives her this broad and formidable political appeal? because this is certainly a turnaround from what we've seen. because in '08, you know, she didn't lose the presidential election. she lost the primary to get there. so this is a big step forward in four years. >> it is. and, you know, her aides, her former aides, are just so delighted by it. they say there are people who worked for her all the way back in the white house who said to me when i reported this story, i finally feel like the country really sees hillary clinton.

you know, they see how hard working she is, how dedicated, et cetera, et cetera. those are their words. not mine. but there is this moment of incredible popularity she has. part of it comes from being secretary of state. right? because she hasn't gotten involved in some of the very nasty political wrangling we've seen in this country for the last couple of years. she has this kind of above it all luster now that i think would actually be pretty hard to maintain if she got into a presidential race. there's also the matter of her experience. one of the cool ironies of her career is that she was once accused of riding on her husband's coat tails. it was considered somewhat controversial that a first lady would become a united states senator. now she really does have one of the more distinguished resumes in american politics. all of that helps account for her popularity. as you know, polls are fickle things. >> sure. >> i saw that poll and i thought to myself, my god, the clinton

aides would love if they could freeze that number for the next few years. but as you know, you cannot. she has not been attacked by republicans in a really long time. republicans are perfectly capable of bringing down that number. >> sure. she's gotten to stay out of the fray. "new york times" reporter jodi kantor. great piece. great to have you on. i really appreciate you taking time-out for me today. >> thank you for having me. a navy s.e.a.l. killed while rescuing an american doctor in afghanistan. what we learned about the mission spearheaded by the infamous s.e.a.l. team 6. and the supreme court's historic decision to take on marriage equality. president of equality matters will join me to talk about the impact of the new court's review when we come back. [ loud party sounds ]

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if we're serious about protecting middle-class families then we're also going to have to ask the wealthiest americans to

pay higher tax rates. that's one principle i won't compromise on. >> he's on his way to michigan with that message set to arrive within the next hour or so. the president departing andrews air force base moments ago. the trip is part of his plan to put a face on those middle-class tax cuts he's calling for. look at how foggy it is there. this time he's going to be touring the daimler diesel plant. he's going to ask congress to act now by extending tax cuts to 98% of americans. peter alexander, good morning. >> reporter: good to visit with you right now. you were just noting that fog at joint base andrews as the president was boarding air force one trying to understand what's taking place behind the scenes in these fiscal talks, trying to kind of see through that dense fog. it does prove some charges. today the president in his latest pr offensive as you noted will go to detroit. this, of course, is a place where he will expect to get a warm welcome for effectively

saving the auto industry. he will be at daimler's plant in the community of redford just outside of detroit. today they're going to announce some plans, the investment of more than $100 million in new technology among other things. they say their recent successes will help provide them new jobs going forward. but it's as much about the economy as it is about what the president says needs to happen with house republicans going forward to keep this economy on track. again, he's going to make the point that the tax rates need to go up for the top 2% of americans. trying to put that pressure, again, on republicans. just a couple days -- just a day, we should say, after meeting with speaker of the house john boehner. that happened here. the first time the two of them have met one on one alone since the debt ceiling crisis of last july. about a year and a half ago. and they'd only sat at a table together just about a month ago. so there appears to be some progress. and there is a need for progress, thomas, to take place right now.

if the deadlines that some of these folks have set, including speaker boehner, if they want to have legislation passed by the 21st, they're going to need to make real progress in writing up that legislation this week. >> yeah. the crunch time is really on. peter alexander, who is classing up the joint there. look at that background. peter alexander in front of the white house. >> looks pretty good. >> thank you, peter. great to see you. all right. it is official. in washington state, lgbt couples there tying the knot for the first time since the state made it legal. that historic moment following an equally big decision by our nation's highest court to address the rights of other same-sex couples to do so. the supreme court will hear both cases in march. with a ruling expected in june. how they decide could have huge implications on lgbt rights nationwide. >> the fact that the court has agreed to take up both cases could mean that the justices are prepared to get to the heart of the same-sex marriage issue.

and that could result in what would essentially be the roev. wade of gay rights. >> a new poll shows a pluralalty of americans supporting this. 30% supporting civil unions. is joining me now to help set the record straight on this, former white house adviser to president clinton and former president of equality matters. and from d.c., msnbc contributor and "washington post" opinion writer jonathan capehart. as we talk about these two cases in question, we've got doma, the defense of marriage act as well as proposition 8 to consider. if we first talk about doma, if it is struck down, what does that mean nationally? >> well, it means only that if you live in a state that permits same-sex marriage and you are in a same-sex marriage, that the federal government will recognize your marriage. doma does not require states to do anything. it doesn't require anybody to do anything. but right now it prevents the

federal government from granting recognition to same-sex marriages like, for instance, in new york. if that is struck down, the people who are married in states that allow it will get full federal recognition. >> which is over more than 1,000 federal benefits that go along with that. >> it's very important. it would be very significant. >> jonathan, we talk about prop 8 in california. if that is struck down, does that mean marriage equality then for all intents and purposes is legal in all states? does what happens in california then change the relevance for 49 other states? >> well, this all gets to how the supreme court rules. you know, i think it was the ninth circuit -- the ninth circuit court of appeals when they upheld the decision written by judge vaughn walker. judge vaughn walker didn't go for the big expansive constitutional right to marry that ted olson and david boies was hoping he would go for. he had a very narrow ruling. will the supreme court stick to

that narrow ruling? if they do, same-sex marriage, assuming prop 8 is knocked down, then same-sex marriage could just be limited to california. and what we could end up have happening is a situation where you have something like 20% of the country where same-sex marriage is legal and if richard is right and doma is struck down as unconstitutional where you could have legally married same-sex couples in, say, california or new york who are then able to avail themselves of the 1,100 something federal rights that come with marriage, and yet gay couples, you know, who've been together for decades in states where marriage equality is not legal, you're setting up a two-class system there and a two-step situation where step one happens and step two is almost inevitable. >> as we think about this, everybody out there thinking about this it's basically two different lanes we need to watch with doma and prop 8. richard, in your cover for the new yorker you've written about the dynamic among the justices

on the court. as we look at that makeup how do you think this will go? especially considering that justice john roberts is a young man who is going to be probably sitting as chief justice for 30 more years or so. and his desire to be on the right side of history. >> yeah. that's exactly right. i think that is the very important part, perhaps the most important point in this whole discussion we're having right now. that is on friday when they announced they were taking both the toma case and this potentially bigger proposition 8 case, i think they are sending a signal that they are ready to say something very significant and very forward leaning on same-sex marriage. i think if they wanted to do something small, they would have probably not taken the california case. but having decided to take that case, i think john roberts is looking at his legacy. he's always, we saw in the health care decision, he has an eye on the legacy of the court. i think the only question now is how far will they go? i mean, i think it's going to be progre

progress. i think it's going to be at least in keeping with where the poms are showing the country is going. it may be a huge, significant, historic decision. but at a minimum it's going to be a very important gay rights decision. >> jonathan, if we look at this in the terms of long range politics, how might the high court's ruling in either case affect the president and democrats as well as republicans as they look to shape up their image of rebranding moving into the future? >> well, look, on this issue democrats are -- are -- they're in the right lane. they're on the right side of history. president obama, excuse me, expressed his personal support for marriage equality. i think you now have two possible candidates for president, governor o'malley in maryland, governor cuomo in new york, who are rumored to be running for president. they are -- they actively pushed for marriage equality in their states. on the democratic side, things are fine. it's on the republican party's side where there is an issue. and there is a split in that

party where sort of the establishment isn't quite there yet on marriage equality. but when you talk to younger republicans, i think, you know, ken melman who richard and i both know. our friend -- i can't remember -- >> megan mccain. >> i'm so sorry. megan mccain who's out there pushing pro marriage equality positions. as soon as the republican party meets up with the melmans and mccains in their ranks, then they will join the democratic party in terms of being on the right side of history. >> you know, this point that jonathan raises is very important. because, you know, because of the way this case arises, the republicans have their name on this brief. and when -- when the case is argued, the lawyer is going to be the lawyer retained by the house republicans. and, you know, in order to argue this case against same-sex marriage, you have to say a lot of things that sound like you're living in the 1950s. i think that's what the election was about. and that's right where

republicans don't want to be. >> jonathan, as you bring up megan mccain and also ken melman, i have an idea. grover norquist, that anti-tax pledge guru, his relevance is probably going to go away if taxes go up. he might want to start a marriage equality pledge for republicans to sign. just saying. >> that's a very good idea, thomas. maybe i should write something about that. >> he's part of go proud. gentlemen, thanks so much. just an idea. if it happens, i don't even want 10%. you know? we do have two very special guests coming up on the show tomorrow i want to tell you about. the latest issue of jet magazine getting a lot of buzz. for the first time ever the magazine features a gay couple in its popular section for high profile wedding announcements. that couple, robi perry and paris prince of worcester, massachusetts, they're going to join me tomorrow 11:30 a.m. eastern time. huge significance of that couple's story there. here's a look at stories topping the news now. the u.s. navy s.e.a.l. killed in

the hostage rescue operation in afghanistan sunday has been identified as 28-year-old nicolas decheck. a highly decorated combat vet from monroeville, p.a. the embargo on his name just lifted by the pentagon. a member of the navy's elite s.e.a.l. team six was killed during the rescue of an american doctor abducted by the taliban five days ago. president obama said he gave his life for his fellow americans. he and his teammates remind us once more of the selfless service that allows our nation to stay strong, safe and free. egyptian president mohamed morsi has given the military the authority to make arrests. this after saturday's revoking of a constitutional decree failed to put an end to the protests. syrian rebels say they've captured a part of a large military base. it would be the latest in a series of setbacks for the assad regime. south african officials say nelson mandela is doing very well after spending a second night in a hospital for what they are calling routine tests. dallas cowboys player josh brent was released from jail on

a $500,000 bond. brent was charged with intoxication manslaughter after a car crash that killed his friend and teammate jerry brown. two university of colorado students have been arrested after allegedly feeding pot brownies to their classmate and a college professor. three people including the professor were hospitalized after eating those brownies. still ahead, the new health care law means new taxes are about to go into effect. but who's going to be footing the bill for that one? joining me next, "the washington post's" ez ra klein breaks it down. does bad luck rub off? mitt romney's weekend meet-up with fighter manny pacquiao. a reminder, today's question of the day. should the deejays who were at the front of that hoax shoulder the blame in the london hospital death of a nurse? share your thoughts on my twitter or facebook pages. we'll take a look at some of your responses coming up. anncr: some politicians seem to think medicare and... social security are just numbers in a budget. well, we worked hard for those benefits. we earned them.

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constipated? yeah. mm. some laxatives like dulcolax can cause cramps. but phillips' caplets don't. they have magnesium. for effective relief of occasional constipation. thanks. [ phillips' lady ] live the regular life. phillips'. time now for the dig. while the battle rages in washington over rising income

tax rates on the top 2% of earners what rarely gets mentioned is that those people are about to get hit with hefty new taxes to help fund president obama's signature health care law. the taxes that kick in starting january 1st. and .9% increase in the payroll tax on wages over $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples. also a new 3.8% tax on investment income for those individuals earning $200,000 and couples earning $250,000. the estimated impact on these top earners, tax increases next year averaging $6,000. joining me to dig a little deeper on this, "washington post" and bloomberg view come ummist ezra klein who's also an msnbc policy analyst. we've hardly heard anything about all of this. why haven't more people opposed to the raising of income tax rates on the highest earners used this as an argument against hitting people with this double whammy, so to speak? >> when it was going through

they were arguing about it more broadly. it did get mentioned on and off. republicans said -- they would often say $500 billion in taxes. they mentioned it. it was couched in this broader argument over the bill. once it passed it was done. people in washington tend to argue over what they think they can actually change. now that this is law they don't tend to think they can change it. it is a big tax increase. it's an important part of funding the bill. it's an important part of the bill's long-term deficit reduction. also it does do something i think is important. which is president obama often says he wants to bring taxes on the rich back to where they were in the clinton years. clinton rates as he says. when you had these taxes in, his proposal to actually increase taxes on the rich, quite a bit above where they were in the clinton years. >> the new taxes on wages and investment income, they're designed to raise, the number is, $318 billion over the next ten years or about half of all the new revenue that will be collected under the health care law. it's been pointed out the new taxes also come with a marriage penalty for those who qualify. >> i'm not hugely convinced.

here's the way it works. the taxes kick in for individuals making more than $200,000 or families making more than $250,000. number one, anybody who's getting married is under those levels is seeing nothing here. that's the vast, overwhelming majority of americans. now, the way the marriage penalty can work is let's say two people get married and they both make $200,000. or $199,000, maybe. if they didn't get married, they wouldn't experience any tax increase. if they do get married and they file jointly, you're making close to $400,000 and you do experience a tax increase. the argument is that's a marriage penalty. it keeps you -- but the harm from that argument, the things people are worried about is it might keep you from getting married. i don't think we're super concerned about the stability of long-term partnerships among very affluent americans. i've not seen any data, association logical or economic, to suggest those are somehow under threat. while i'm open to the idea that maybe there could be a wiser

phase in to this, i don't think we're looking at a significant threat to the institution of marriage among people making $200,000 per. >> great to see you, ezra. thank you for helping us with the dig on this. appreciate it. straight ahead for everybody, we're going to talk a little bit about the answers you have given us to the question of the day. should the deejays shoulder the blame for the london hospital hoax? gary garrett tweeted no. they should absolutely not be blamed. they feel terrible enough already for a simple prank gone bad. lucy said on facebook they should. every action we take bears a reaction. they should know better. this is not a funny matter. a life was lost because of their prank. devon millington tweeted this. should not be blamed 100% but actions do have consequences. another example of why one should think before they act. we encourage you to keep those comments coming into us on twitter and/or facebook. baby boomers are stressed out. [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus presents the cold truth.

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the romneys ringside in sin city. it's time for the poli-side bar. mitt and ann romney were in vegas for the battle. romney met up with paqual in his dressing room saying hi, manny, ran for president and lost. he himself lost that night after getting knocked out cold in the sixth round. it is official. former florida governor clarly crist is now a democrat. he was a republican as governor and then ran for senate as an independent, announced his not so surprising news on twitter friday night. he tweeted "proud and honored to join the democratic party in the home of president barack obama. crist will join chris matthews tonight on "hardball" to talk more about that. booker will decide soon whether to run or not for governor of new jersey next year.

>> i am absolutely considering running for governor as well as giving other options and consideration. i'm going to be focus odd that for the next week to ten days or so. >> so if booker does get in the ring, he will be pitted against friend and popular current governor chris christy, who with an approval rating exceeding 70% is seeking another term. a little bit of controversy surrounding this year's annual christmas in washington charity concert. among those who performed for the first family during last night's taping was south korean rapper psy. his performance came just days after video surfaced of the artist using inflammatory anti-american lyrics and leading protests at a concert in 2004. psy issued an apology for those lyrics saying they were part of the anti-iraq war movement. finally, the fiscal funnies. saturday night live could not help spoofing the cliff and the talks that aren't really talks between president obama and house speaker john boehner. >> in order to get the support of the speaker, i agree there

will be no tax increases. i repeat, zero tax increases. why give in? well, simply put, i felt sorry for this man. early this week i found my way into the congressional cafeteria and what do i see? john boehner sitting by himself all alone, not a single member of his party willing to share his company. he didn't even have any milk to drink because, well, tell them why, john? >> they tinked in my milk and threw it in the garbage. >> i'll see back here tomorrow at 121:00 a.m. eastern time. now with alex wagner, who is coming up, a live edition now from washington today. alex, you left me. i miss you. >> oh, thomas. i'll be back at the end of the week, my friend. >> by thursday, right? >> yes. perhapsly have resolved the whole fiscal cliff thing in the meantime. >> excellent. >> president obama is taking his great reasonableness tour on the road again, but before the president presses his case in

michigan, he and speaker boehner hold a closed-door our lips are sealed meeting on the fiscal cliff. are the seas slowly parting for compromise? we will ask michael steele, jonathan tate, and margaret carlson. plus, sweeping historic legislation from the white house or hair-tugging small ball congressional battle? what shape will immigration reform take? we will ask jose diaz ballart. the supreme court gears up for laned mark term for some rights. we will look at the high court's high-low options in deciding the future of same-sex marriage. all that when "now" starts in a mere 180 seconds. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil doesn't treat that. really? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ breathes deeply ] awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is. that's the cold truth!

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